Tandridge District Council Business News – update

Business support update

Tandridge District Council is keen to support our local businesses in these difficult and challenging times and will continue to send you information on support for business as and when it becomes available to them.

They are regularly updating the website with the answers to questions businesses are asking them most frequently since the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Business rate support – no need to apply

Following the budget 2020 (COVID-19) and recent announcements, the government announced it will provide additional business rate support to businesses.

The Chancellor announced, as a temporary measure for 2020/2021 only, that he would:

Increase the level of the retail discount to 100% for eligible occupied retail businesses (previous threshold of £51,000 rateable value has been removed).

Expand the retail discount to include estate agents, letting agents, bingo halls, hospitality and leisure properties, such as museums, theatres, gyms and hotels.

Increase the level of the pubs discount to £5,000 for pubs, with a rateable value less than £100,000.

Nursery Discount – 100% relief will apply to premises occupied by providers on Ofsted’s Early Years Registers.

A £10,000 grant to our smallest businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or less.

A £25,000 grant for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with a rateable value over £15,000 up to £51,000

Providing your business rates are not in arrears, you should cancel any standing order or direct debt for business rates until further notice if you believe you are eligible for the new expanded retail rates relief. For more information, visit www.tandridge.gov.uk/coronavirus.

If the April payment has already been paid, we will refund any overpaid monies, if you are eligible, as soon as is practicably possible.

Small business grant

If your business already pays little or no business rates under small business rate relief (SBRR), rural rate relief (RRR) and tapered relief, the government is providing additional funding via local authorities.

This will provide a one-off grant of £10,000 to eligible businesses to help meet their ongoing business costs.

Cash grant for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses

If your business is within the retail, hospitality or leisure sector, the government is now offering a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property.

Businesses in these sectors with a property which has a rateable value of up to £15,000 will receive a grant of £10,000.

Businesses in these sectors with a property which has a rateable value of over £15,001 and less than £51,000 will receive a grant of £25,000.

What happens next?

Businesses do not need to ‘apply’ for the grants, we will contact you soon to arrange paying the grant by BACS transfer to your business bank account.

Any business caught falsifying their records to gain additional grant money will face prosecution. The government is making the digital assurance tool Spotlight available to councils and they are encouraging councils to share good practice.

If your business does not meet the above criteria and your organisation is affected by COVID-19, we do have the discretion to give hardship relief. Please complete our application form.

Self-employed Income Support Scheme

Last week, the government announced the Self-employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

The scheme provides help for individuals, or a member of a partnership who:

Submitted an income tax self-assessment for 2018 – 2019.

Has lost trading profits because of COVID-19.

Traded in 2019-2020.

At the time of an application, are trading (or would be, if it wasn’t for COVID-19) and plan to continue trading in 2020-2021.

Total trading profits are less than £50,000.

Self-employed individuals or partnerships will be given a grant covering 80% of their profits, up to £2,500 a month.

HMRC will manage the scheme and businesses should receive the grant in early June.

You will only be able to access this scheme through GOV.UK. If someone texts, calls or e-mails claiming to be from HMRC, saying you can claim financial help or are owed a tax refund and asks you to click on a link or to give information such as your name, credit card or bank details, it is a scam.

Register for the next live webinar

HMRC is running a series of webinars to help employers and their staff during COVID-19. These webinars will provide an overview of the support available for businesses and will include information on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, refunding eligible Statutory Sick Pay costs, furloughed employees and more.

How is the government funding supporting your business during the pandemic?

Surrey Chambers of Commerce in partnership with Sussex Chamber, Hampshire Chamber, Surrey County Council, Enterprise M3 and Coast2Capital have put together a survey to understand how the recently announced government funding is impacting and supporting businesses during the pandemic.

This is the first of a series of surveys which will run over the next few weeks. This survey is looking at the engagement/uptake of the funding support announced by government.

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey, so the partnership can inform the government of the effectiveness of their strategies, highlight areas where more support is needed and to help shape the support and help the Chambers and Local Enterprise Partnerships can provide businesses in the future.

Can you provide a solution to clean ambulances quicker?

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is looking for rapid sanitising technology to speed up the time it takes to clean ambulances to help in the national effort against coronavirus and save lives because it can take up to 45 minutes to clean ambulances once they have transported a patient suspected of having COVID-19.

DASA has today launched a new Innovation Focus Area as part of its Open Call for Innovation seeking industry’s help to identify rapid sanitising technology solutions that can be demonstrated in a live trial on an ambulance.

Are you able to donate to a coronavirus support fund?

A new local response fund has been launched which will provide grants to local organisations who are supporting the most vulnerable and isolated during this crisis, including older people, people with disabilities or long-term health issues, and families in need.

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